BBC.CNN WORLD NEWS
Showing posts with label current news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label current news. Show all posts

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi’s son, arrested, Libyan commander says

saif al-islam gaddafi
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
TRIPOLI— Saif al-Islam, the favored son of former Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, was arrested on the border with Niger while his supporters were trying to smuggle him out of the country, a Libyan commander said Saturday.

Othman Maigeta, a brigade commander, confirmed that the once high-profile member of the ruling family was detained and taken to the mountain city of Zintan. The city is home to one of the largest groups of fighters that swept across the west of the country, ultimately toppling the regime in August.

The announcement by Maigeta, made at a news conference at the Radisson hotel in the Libyan capital, was greeted with celebratory gunfire, singing and dancing.

Scenes of joy broke out in the streets as the news was announced on Libyan television, and people hung out of the windows of their cars, honking horns, flashing lights and flying the red, black and green revolutionary tricolor. Cries of “Allahu Akbar” filled the air as crowds hugged each other and wept.

Moammar Gaddafi was captured outside his hometown of Sirte last month, but was immediately killed in a mob attack. He was later buried quietly in the desert.

Saif al-Islam, the eldest son of Moammar Gaddafi and his second wife, was a prominent international spokesman for the regime. He was educated in London and portrayed himself as a reforming force.

But he became a leading force of the Gaddafi regime’s struggle for survival and is wanted for trial by the International Criminal Court, which has been negotiating with people who claimed to his representatives about his possible surrender.

Rebels from Zintan have maintained their status as a fighting force and control parts of Tripoli, as well as patrolling areas in the south of the country. Commanders said that the arrest was made in Obari, in the desert, 400 miles south of Tripoli.

Rumors had been circulating for weeks about the whereabouts of the man who was poised to take over from his father in ruling Libya, and who was both politically influential and widely reviled.

Fighting last week near the Western town of Zawiya intensified after word spread that Saif al-Islam was hiding in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Tripoli.


News by Washington Post


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Friday, November 18, 2011

PayPal makes sending money via Facebook

paypal
Paypal
AFP - The online payment service PayPal (eBay group) Thursday launched an application to exchange money with friends, with an application designed for the website Facebook. "We are the world's largest online payment on the world's largest social network, to make it even easier to send money to friends or family members," said a marketing manager PayPal, JB Coutinho, the blog of the company.

"Our new application 'Send Money' (send money) is used to transform messages in real gift," she added. Such remittances may be posted on the site illustrated with maps, videos or simple photos. Click the links can then make the money transfer. Transactions, reserved for the U.S., are free and can be performed with normal bank accounts. "PayPal is where friends and families gather," said Ms. Coutinho. "Imagine the smile when you receive money to buy a cold beer with the message 'this tour is for me"

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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Obama tells Asia U.S. "here to stay" as Pacific power

barack-obama
Barack Obama, U.S. President
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that the U.S. military would expand its role in the Asia-Pacific region, despite budget cuts, declaring America was "here to stay" as a Pacific power which would help shape the region's future.

China has voiced misgivings about Obama's announcement of fresh troop deployments to Australia and has longstanding fears that its growing power could be hobbled by U.S. influence. But Beijing has also stressed that conflict is in nobody's interest.

Obama addressed the Chinese unease, pledging to seek greater cooperation with Beijing.

The U.S. military, turning its focus away from Iraq and Afghanistan, would be more broadly distributed in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, more flexible and help build regional capacity, Obama told the Australian parliament.

"As we end today's wars, I have directed my national security team to make our presence and missions in the Asia Pacific a top priority," Obama said in a major speech on Washington's vision for the Asia-Pacific region.

"As a result, reductions in U.S. defense spending will not -I repeat, will not - come at the expense of the Asia Pacific."

Obama was clear in acknowledging China's discomfort at what it sees as attempts by Washington to encircle it.

"We'll seek more opportunities for cooperation with Beijing, including greater communication between our militaries to promote understanding and avoid miscalculation," he said.

Nervous about China's growing clout, U.S. allies such as Japan and South Korea have sought assurances from the United States that it would be a strong counterweight in the region.

A first step in extending the U.S. military reach into Southeast Asia will see U.S. marines, naval ships and aircraft deployed to northern Australia from 2012.

China has questioned the new U.S. deployment, raising doubts whether strengthening such alliances helped the region pull together at a time of economic gloom.

Obama said the United States would seek to work with China to ensure economic prosperity and security in the region, but would speak candidly about issues such as human rights in China and raise security issue like the South China Sea.

China claims the South China Sea, a vital shipping route rich in oil, minerals and fishery resources. But Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei hold rivals claims to at least parts of the sea, sparking maritime stand-offs.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointedly visited the Philippines on Wednesday, saying that no claimant should resort to intimidation to push its cause.

Obama also referred in his address to reforms undertaken by Myanmar's new civilian leaders, including the release of political prisoners. But he said they had to do more on human rights in order to secure better relations with Washington.

Rory Medcalf, security analyst at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, said Obama's speech marked a hardening of policy toward China, though he noted that the president was still reaching out to Beijing.

"I think we are seeing a firm stance from Obama. He spent the first year of his presidency trying very hard to engage with China, perhaps even to accommodate China," said Medcalf.

"I think he feels that he was rebuffed and that he was in effect taken advantage by China. So, there is a fundamental reorienting of American policy on display here."

U.S. SEEKS MORE FLEXIBLE FORCES IN ASIA

The winding down of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has opened the door to greater U.S. attention to simmering tension over the South China Sea, a shipping lane for more than $5 trillion in annual trade that the United States wants to keep open.

Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday agreed to have 2,500 U.S. Marines operate out of a de facto base in the northern port of Darwin by 2016.

The United States has military bases and large forces in Japan and South Korea, but its presence in Southeast Asia was dramatically reduced in the early 1990s with the closure of bases at Clark Field and Subic Bay in the Philippines.

Deploying U.S. Marines, ships and aircraft in Darwin, only 820 km (500 miles) from Indonesia, will allow the United States to quickly reach into Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean to ensure secure major trade sea-lanes.

Obama cited increased U.S. naval ship visits and training in the Philippines and Singapore, working with Indonesia to fight piracy, partnering Thailand for disaster relief, and significantly, acknowledged India's role in region security.

Washington welcomed "India as it 'looks east' and plays a larger role as an Asian power.

"We'll have new opportunities to train with other allies and partners, from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean," he said.

Medcalf said: "It will be a landmark speech of Obama's presidency. It states unequivocally that the U.S. is squarely focusing its strategic attention on Asia. Its defining that Asia as including the Indian Ocean and India."

In a note to his domestic audience, Obama said the increased focus on Asia-Pacific was essential for America's economic future.

"As the world's fastest-growing region-and home to more than half the global economy-the Asia Pacific is critical to achieving my highest priority: creating jobs and opportunity for the American people," he said.

Obama will fly to Bali late on Thursday, where he will seek to underscore a focus on Asia by becoming the first U.S. president to participate in the security East Asia Summit.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

9-year-old NC girl survives 2 days in car wreckage

car accident
Car Accident
COVE CITY, N.C. (AP) — A 9-year-old North Carolina girl pinned in a wrecked car for almost two days ate Pop-Tarts and Gatorade to help her survive the single-car crash that killed her father, police and relatives said on Monday.

Jordan Landon of Cove City was airlifted to a hospital Sunday night after rescue teams cut her out of the 1995 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that had been upside down in a culvert since Friday night, the North Carolina Highway Patrol said. Killed was 39-year-old Douglas Landon, police said.

Sgt. David Clifton called the girl "heroic" and that she was able to stay calm despite being trapped in the dark and cold. He says the girl was talkative and is expected to fully recover.

Clifton said a person walking by saw the car off the state highway and called 911 late Sunday afternoon, more than 40 hours after the pair was believed to have crashed on their way to a store. Temperatures at night had dropped into the 30s in the area in eastern North Carolina.

News by Yahoo



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Monday, November 14, 2011

Penn State's Sandusky denies he is a pedophile

jerry sandusky
Jerry Sandusky
(Reuters) - Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State University assistant football coach charged with child sex abuse, says he is not a pedophile, but admits he showered with young boys.

In a full-court media press across two television networks, Sandusky and his attorney, Joe Amendola, said they have answers for all 40 charges that Pennsylvania prosecutors have leveled.

"I am innocent of those charges," Sandusky told NBC's Bob Costas in excerpts released by the network on Monday night.

The former coach and founder of The Second Mile charity for disadvantaged youth, acknowledged that after workouts he has showered with boys.

"I have hugged them and I have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact," Sandusky told Costas.

Sandusky is just a "big overgrown kid," Amendola told CNN in a separate interview on Monday night.

The lawyer painted a sympathetic picture of his 67-year-old client, saying he is worried for Sandusky's health.

Amendola said he had advised Sandusky and his wife to leave State College, Pa., to relax, but Sandusky told him he would be recognizable anywhere.

For each charge, "We have an answer," Amendola said.

The defense team is having trouble finding some of the alleged victims mentioned in a grand jury report that was released November 4, Amendola said.

Sandusky, once considered a likely successor to legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, is accused of sexually assaulting eight boys over more than a decade.

He is free on bail and is technically free to go anywhere ahead of his next court appearance, provided he does not contact witnesses, alleged victims, or any minor.

The allegations led to the firings of Penn State President Graham Spanier and Paterno. Athletic Director Tim Curley was placed on administrative leave and Gary Schultz, interim senior vice president for finance and business, retired.

Sandusky retired from Penn State in 1999. The grand jury alleged, among other charges, that Sandusky had sexually assaulted a boy in a Penn State football locker room in 2002 and university officials failed to report the incident.

Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary, who witnessed the alleged incident, is on paid administrative leave from the university.

The Big Ten athletic conference said on Monday it will remove Paterno's name from the trophy that will be given to the winner of its first-ever championship game, scheduled to be played in Indianapolis in December.

"The trophy and its namesake are intended to be celebratory and aspirational, not controversial," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement.

The intertwined relationship between Penn State, its football program and The Second Mile charity continues to be a focus of the developing scandal.

On Sunday it was reported that the district court judge who ordered Sandusky to be freed on $100,000 unsecured bail had donated to the charity and worked as a volunteer for the group. Prosecutors had requested a $500,000 bail for Sandusky and that he be required to wear a leg monitor.

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Obama administration launches $1 billion healthcare drive

barack obama
Barack Obama
(Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday said $1 billion of federal funds allocated in last year's health reform law will go toward innovation programs designed to boost jobs and improve patient care.

The announcement is the administration's latest attempt to show that it is working outside of a deeply divided Congress to create jobs.

The administration will award grants in March to people who come up with the best ideas to lift care and save money for those enrolled in the federal healthcare programs Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

However, the administration did not say how many jobs the measure would create.

Don Berwick, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said a good example includes the Baylor Heart Hospital in Dallas which has worked to lower readmission rates for congestive heart failure.

"With the healthcare innovation challenge, we're going straight to the source," Berwick said during a news conference for the announcement.

"We want to find them, we want to help them, we want to spread what they know and what they've learned."

The $1 billion of awards will cut into the $10 billion that Congress set aside in the Affordable Care Act to fund a new CMS Innovation Center. The center is meant to promote better care and health at reduced costs by identifying, testing and spreading new models of care and payment.

To get a grant, projects must start within six months and the program will concentrate on those ideas that spur the most hiring and workforce training, the Department of Health and Human Services said.

Awards will range from around $1 million to up to $30 million and be spread over three years. Applications are open to providers, payers, local government, community organizations and public-private partnerships.

Separately on Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to decide the legal fate of Obama's healthcare law, with an election-year ruling due by July.

JOB POLITICS

President Barack Obama has been aggressively promoting programs that hold potential to boost hiring, amid 9 percent U.S. unemployment which will hurt his re-election chances next year unless job creation improves.

Republican lawmakers have held up passage of most of a $447 billion jobs bill that Obama proposed in September, and which Democrats want funded by a tax on millionaires.

So far, only two modest proposals in the package have been approved by the Senate with Republican support.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have meanwhile passed a number of measures to boost jobs, but these have yet to be taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Asked how many jobs the grants would create, Dr. Rick Gilfillan, acting director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, said: "This is not about a specific number. This is about recognizing that there are going to be more people involved in healthcare" as the population ages.

"The question is what are they going to be doing," he said, adding that the program would help identify high-value jobs in healthcare and help train people for them.

Some Republicans have questioned the innovation center's approach.

"We are concerned that at a time of significant uncertainty for the fiscal health of the U.S. government, funds are being expended by the Innovation Center with little to no actual value provided," three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee wrote to Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week.

Senators Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the committee, Mike Enzi and Tom Coburn said the innovation center received $10 billion in federal funding but has not yet produced recommendations or implemented any reforms.

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Brady, Patriots take control of AFC East with win over Jets

rugby
Rugby
New England, facing the prospect of dropping three successive games for the first time since 2002, instead gained the upper hand in the AFC East by silencing the New York Jets 37-16 Sunday night.

Defending champion New England, New York and the Buffalo Bills had all owned a share of the division lead when the day began at 5-3. But Buffalo was pummeled by the Dallas Cowboys 44-7 one week after the Jets handed the Bills a damaging 27-11 loss at home.

New England got it done in all three phases: offense, defense and special teams.

Quarterback Tom Brady regained his hot hand, completing 26 of 39 passes for 329 yards without tossing an interception. He twice found tight end Rob Gronkowski for TDs, hitting him from 18 yards out to establish a 13-9 halftime lead before they connected on a 5-yarder for a 23-9 margin late in the third quarter.

After New York responded with a 10-play, 71-yard drive that culminated in Mark Sanchez's 7-yard pass to Plaxico Burress, narrowing the deficit to 23-16 at the start of the fourth quarter, Brady took his club on a surgical 84-yard march that required 13 plays and burned 6:51 off the clock. Brady hit Deion Branch for an 8-yard scoring strike with 8:04 remaining.

New England's maligned defense, ranked last in allowing 416.3 yards per game and last in surrendering 314 yards passing when play began, finally rose up after the Patriots were outscored at the Pittsburgh Steelers (25-17) and against the New York Giants (24-20).

The latter ended New England's 20-game regular-season home winning streak, marked its first loss to a visiting NFC team since 2002 and spurred talk that the perennial power was primed for a mighty fall.

Such talk now appears to be as much off target as the boast by Jets coach Rex Ryan that his club will win the Super Bowl after consecutive appearances in the AFC Championship Game.

The Patriots' defense kept New York from moving the chains consistently and linebacker Rob Ninkovich produced a pair of key interceptions of Mark Sanchez. He returned the second of those 12 yards for a back-breaking touchdown that produced the final margin.

New York began the game driving from its 33 to first-and-goal at New England's 9. But Shonn Greene's 3-yard run off left tackle was followed by two incomplete passes. It was bad enough that the Jets were turned away without a TD. It got worse when Nick Folk missed the 24-yard field goal attempt.

New England, meanwhile, produced field goals on its first two possessions, with Stephen Gostkowski connecting from 50 and 36 yards out. He would add a 27-yarder early in the third quarter.

News by US Today

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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Franco Harris Defends Joe Paterno in Child Sex Abuse Scandal

franco harris
Franco Harris
Pittsburgh Steeler great Franco Harris, who played college ball at Penn State, today defended his former coach, Joe Paterno, who lost his job over the child sex abuse case that has rocked the university.

Harris was one of a stream of supporters who visited Paterno at his home in State College, Pa., today.

When he came out of the Paterno house, Harris said he doesn’t understand why Paterno is being portrayed the way he is, that he did what he should have done in the case.

Paterno told investigators that when a graduate student told him in 2002 that he had seen former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky in the gym showers with a young boy, he in turn informed university officials.

Investigators say those officials never passed on the report to police to investigate.

Since Sandusky was arrested on Nov. 5, charged with sexually assaulting eight boys over a 15-year period.

Two university officials have also been arrested on perjury charges, and University President Graham Spanier and Paterno both lost their jobs.

The children Sandusky allegedly abused were all connected to his Second Mile charity, which was supposed to give at-risk children a chance to improve their lives through sports.

Harris, along with Cal Ripken Jr., Arnold Palmer and Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid have all been listed as honorary directors of the charity.

News by ABC

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Obama officially open the summit of the Asia-Pacific to Hawaii

obama
Barack Obama
AFP - U.S. President Barack Obama officially opened Sunday the summit of the Forum on Asia-Pacific Economic (APEC) in Hawaii, dominated by a proposed free trade area comprising half of the 21 member countries. "We now have the opportunity to move toward our ultimate goal: a regional economy without hindrance," said Obama, who announced Saturday an agreement on the outline of a proposed free trade agreement between 10 countries Asia-Pacific.

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Morocco: Marrakech palm grove threatened by the excesses of tourism

palm tree
Palm tree
AFP - The Millennium vast palm grove of Marrakech in southern Morocco, is in great danger: water scarcity, urbanization, tourism projects and pharaonic golf course threaten the survival of this oasis, an ambitious program of conservation attempts back. Ten centuries after his birth, the palm, one of the most beautiful of Morocco, is now suffering the devastating combination of man and climate. This oasis full of hundreds of thousands of palm trees growing on 16,000 hectares, has lost 30% of its area over the past two decades, according to experts.

The introduction in recent years in the heart of the palm, and in disregard of the environment, major tourism projects, which "pump a lot" of water, promotes the degradation of the plantations and deteriorating ecological balance, they said. "Tourism projects, despite all the positives they generate, are pumping a lot. This has a negative effect on the ecological balance", told AFP Laftouhi Nour-Eddine, hydrogeologist at the Faculty of Marrakech. "Personally, I consider irrational proliferation of golf courses as a crime," he laments.

Nicknamed the "Red City" for the particular color of its houses, Marrakech is the most popular site for tourists and Moroccans. Fortunately for the walker-loving nature, the snowy mountains that surround the city and can be admired from the city center, is a picture postcard. But the city now has ten golf courses, including two in one palm, and a dozen others waiting to leave, even if they use a lot of water. The success of tourism this place that even the famous Club Med is deployed with three pools and golf inside the grove. A stark contrast to that remembers that the very name of this city, dating from 1062 and built by Youssef Ibn Tachfin, first ruler of the Almoravid dynasty, encouraged to dream.

"Marrakech" come from the Berber word "love" which means "country" and "Akouche" which means "god", giving "the land of God" or "holy land" or, as another dialect etymology "rangelands." This dream seems vanished at a time when the city has nearly a million people with an impressive number of hotels, swimming pools and a multitude of riads (traditional houses built around a courtyard). Part of riads have been bought and renovated by the Moroccan-born or wealthy foreigners, pushing the less advantaged population to the outside of the city. This sad state of affairs gives rise to feelings of bitterness and nostalgia for the people of the palm, fewer and fewer.

"The source went here where I stand. Before, there was a stream. There was a spring there, another next to it. Everywhere the place was full of sources. But the day they began to build villas and hotels, the water is gone. It's over, "indignant Boujemaa, a resident of the palm. To protect the grove, an extensive program was launched by local authorities in 2007, aiming to plant 430,000 palm trees in a year. "Thanks to the central waste water treatment, opened in 2010, and wells that are already operational, large quantities of water available," said Abdelilah Mdidech, the program director for the Protection of the palm, led by Mohammed VI Foundation for the environment. Hundreds of workers are busy day for planting new palm trees and maintain those who are aging.

"It is already in 415,292 young palms planted (...) and there, the young shoots have a good recovery, with green leaves and a good crown," says Mdidech. The latter claims to be "realistic but optimistic": "I know we can not afford, especially in water, into a verdant grove. We must be realistic." "But with this project, I can say it will be saved. I am optimistic."




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Obama ready to show unbelievers the hospital where he was born

Barack Obama
Barack Obama
AFP - U.S. President Barack Obama joked Saturday about the controversy surrounding his birthplace, enjoying his return to Honolulu, her hometown, to offer unbelievers to show them the hospital where he was born. "I want to thank our hosts for their warm hospitality Hawaiian," Obama said to an audience of business leaders meeting in the margins of the Forum of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec). "As many of you know, this is my birthplace," said Bush. "I know that the thing has been challenged for a while, but I can show you the hospital, if you want to check it out," he said as the laughter and applause from the audience.

Obama has had to resolve in April to publicly release a copy of their birth certificate establishing that he was born in Honolulu Aug. 4, 1961, following a controversy fueled by growing some of his opponents. The latter asserted that Mr. Obama, born of Kenyan father, was not born on American soil and therefore could not claim to be President of the United States. Obama also joked about the formalism of the APEC summit that was held to organize in his hometown with the leaders of 21 Pacific Rim countries. "I must say that after all the years I spent in Hawaii, is the first time I find myself wearing a suit," he said.

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Saturday, November 12, 2011

Shoppers rebel against early Black Friday

shopper
Rebel Shoppers
For the first time in years, Michelle Nyberg probably will not be standing in line when stores open for their Black Friday sales.

She still loves a good deal — last year she spent a couple of thousand dollars on markdowns that day, the Friday after Thanksgiving — but Ms. Nyberg says that she does not want retailers to ruin the holiday for her or their own employees.

Ms. Nyberg is drawing the line now that major chains like Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s say they will open for the first time at midnight on Thanksgiving, and Wal-Mart will go even further, with a 10 p.m. Thanksgiving start for deals on some merchandise.

Retailers, eager to be the first to draw customers on one of the biggest shopping days of the year, are pulling the equivalent of the Republican primary shuffle by opening earlier and earlier than competitors.

Last year, a few stores, including Toys “R” Us, pushed into Thanksgiving.

But judging from the negative reaction among dedicated Friday after Thanksgiving shoppers on blogs, Twitter and Facebook, the wave of midnight openings this year has crossed a line.

Part of the objection is inconvenience. To be at or near the front of the line, shoppers say they will now have to leave home hours earlier — in the middle of the turkey dinner for some. But the wider objections reflect sentiments like those of the Occupy Wall Street movement, including a growing attention to the rights of workers and a wariness of decisions by big business.

Either way, many in the shop-till-you-drop crowd have had enough with Black Friday creep.

“I just don’t think that’s good business, in a sense, to make your employees come in on one of the biggest holidays of the year and cut their family time short,” said Ms. Nyberg, 31, a saleswoman in Villa Rica, Ga., for a molecular biology company. “With the economy the way it is, no one’s going to say, ‘I’m not going to do that, I’m going to quit or get fired over it.’ ”

One retail executive sounded sad about the decision to open earlier. Brian Dunn, the chief executive of Best Buy, said that the midnight opening “became an operating imperative for us” after competitors moved their openings back. “I feel terrible,” he said.

A handful of retailers are holding out, like J. C. Penney, which will open at its usual 4 a.m. on Friday. “We wanted to give our associates Thanksgiving Day to spend with their families,” said Bill Gentner, senior vice president for marketing.

Still, some of the big retailers making the switch said that the response from workers and customers had been positive.

“There are many associates who would prefer to work this time as they appreciate the flexibility it affords their schedules for the holiday weekend,” Holly Thomas, a Macy’s spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail. A Target spokesman, Antoine LaFromboise, said that employees will get holiday pay for Thanksgiving work, and “we’ve heard from our guests that they are excited.”

But even with increased pay, some retail workers said in interviews that the holiday hours were a raw deal.

Anthony Hardwick, 29, who works at a Target store in Omaha, said he would have to leave Thanksgiving dinner with his fiancée’s family so he could sleep before starting a shift around 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving, followed on Friday by a shift at his other job, at OfficeMax.

Mr. Hardwick says he is glad to have a job, and does not mind the early hours on Friday, but “cutting into our holidays is just a step too far.”

He added, “Even though it’s a desperate time doesn’t mean that we should trade all the ground that our fathers and our grandfathers, everyone that came before us, fought really hard for.”

He has created an online petition urging Target to open at 5 a.m. Friday instead, which had attracted a handful of signatures as of Thursday.

The concern among customers about retail workers recalls an earlier era, when consumer advocates encouraged people to consider the impact of their shopping on sales clerks, said Lawrence B. Glickman, the chairman of the history department at the University of South Carolina.

In the late 19th century, as labor organizers pushed for eight-hour days and holidays off, consumer advocates told shoppers to “watch out for their complicity in the exploitation of workers through shopping” he said. That sentiment faded after the 1930s, he said, as consumer advocacy focused more on protecting shoppers.

For shoppers themselves — and the stores hoping to profit from them — the rush to midnight could have unintended consequences.

Last year, for instance, an adept shopper could be in the Toys “R” Us line for its 10 p.m. opening Thanksgiving Day, then line up at Wal-Mart to get a wrist band at 2 a.m. that assured a place in line for its sales starting at 5. In between, the shopper could swing by Kohl’s at 3, and Target or Macy’s at 4, and perhaps finish with Best Buy after its 5 a.m. opening.

“This year, people are going to have to pick and choose what store they’re going to leave behind,” said Jennifer Carr, 30, a homemaker in Jonesboro, Ga. She regularly hits the Friday sales, but says she is reconsidering that this year.

Wal-Mart said in a statement that “customers told us they would rather stay up late to shop than get up early.” But like Ms. Carr, many dedicated Black Friday shoppers say they are rethinking shopping on that day altogether.

Jill Paffrath usually attacks the Friday sales at Target like a ninja. After Thanksgiving lunch, she, her four sisters and two sisters-in-law study the Target ads and make a list of presents they want to buy. After dinner and card games, they drive to the Target in southeast Lincoln, Neb., four hours before it opens, ask a relative who is a police officer to drop off coffee, and bring a DVD player so they can watch “Christmas Vacation” every year.

As much as she loves that ritual, Ms. Paffrath said, she may now skip it.

“Where can it go from here?” she said. “We really don’t want to wait in line and miss Thanksgiving.”

News by yahoo

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Two gays married in Roussillon to advance their cause before 2012

Gay
Two gays married in Roussillon
AFP - The Communist mayor of Cabestany (Pyrénées-Orientales) Saturday celebrating the union of two men with the intention to impose the political campaign of 2012 the issue of legalizing gay marriage in France. No gay marriage have been officially recognized in France, unlike other countries, there will be a symbolic union, or a birth certificate will be established there, at the risk of invalidation later? "This marriage will be free of any cancellation, you will see on Saturday," answered Jean Vila, mayor of this town adjacent to Perpignan.

Former MP keeps the mystery about what would make this marriage unassailable. The only gay marriage to date has been celebrated in 2004 by Noel Mamere, Mayor ecologist Bègles (Gironde), but it was annulled by the courts. "We get married because we love each other, but also a militant act," announced the future spouses. William is a painter for 37 years. Patrick, 48, runs a photo lab and is the father of a girl born 22 years from a previous marriage. They decided to publicize their efforts to "very soon in France, two same-sex couples can legally marry. We are citizens like any others." Both from Nîmes, where they met eight years ago, they live in Paris, where they work, and Cabestany, where they spend their holidays.

If they chose to exchange Cabestany consent and alliances because they had heard that the mayor was favorable to their cause. For the mayor, "there are times you have to be off-the-law". "I appeal to all mayors to commemorate gay marriage is a struggle of society that are needed to advance the schmilblick. It is said that France is a modern, forward edge, but we will be the last European country to legalize ", after the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Spain and Portugal. "It's courageous. It is a strong signal that we send the mayor of this town," welcomes Gougain Nicolas, spokesman for the gay interassociation lesbian, bi and trans (Inter-LGBT). This reveals "the archaic French law and the need for legislation."

Counsel Mécary Caroline, who entered in 2007 the European Court of Human Rights on the marriage of Bordeaux, the mayor may inscribe the marriage in civil registry official. "If he does, that's fine. Otherwise, it will be a good way to challenge the political class", as was the case with a symbolic marriage celebrated in Montpellier in February, she said. "If there is a change of government in 2012, she said, Europe Ecology and PS are already agreed to file a bill to open civil marriage to all, heterosexuals and homosexuals."

In January 2011, the Constitutional Council, a priority issue of constitutionality (QPC) on the initiative of a couple of women PACS, recalled that "under French law, marriage is the union of a man and a woman "and left to the legislature to change the law or not to allow gay marriage. Proponents of this union have since carried their hopes on the 2012 campaign.

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Friday, November 11, 2011

A U.S. soldier sentenced to life imprisonment for killing Afghan civilians

Adam Winfield
Adam Winfield
The leader of a group of U.S. soldiers accused of having executed three Afghan civilians in 2010 was sentenced Thursday, November 10 to life imprisonment by a court martial of the State of Washington. Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, 26, was convicted of 15 counts, including three premeditated murders. The military jury deliberated for five hours. Sergeant Gibbs can apply for parole after serving ten years in prison, the court decided. His trial began October 28 on the military base at Lewis-McChord, south of Seattle. Five other soldiers were charged in this case, three of them pleaded guilty and were sentenced to terms ranging from three to twenty-four years in prison. A fifth is awaiting trial.

During these procedures, and since the opening of the first trial in March, the young man tried unsuccessfully to refute the accusation of his fellow unit, which described him as the leader of the group. It would partly designed and directed the execution of "scenarios" play, which sought to disguise killings of Afghan civilians in combat operations. The soldiers and detonated grenades and weapons deposited close to their victims, later reported to their superiors of insurgent attacks. "TROPHIES" "to believe a legitimate intervention was part of the plan," said Attorney had in his indictment Wednesday. But these stories are "highly unlikely" he continued.

Gibbs was convicted of inciting two men to kill an agricultural worker of 15 years named Gul Mudin in a field. The sergeant gave a grenade at one of the soldiers under his command, Jeremy Morlock, who threw the boy. Then a second soldier, Andrew Holmes, shot him. Gibbs was also found to have shot dead a man asleep at the roadside, Marach Agha, and filing of a Kalashnikov rifle near his body. The third murder was that of a cleric, Mullah Adahdad, again performed with grenades and shot.

Some soldiers were photographed posing next to the corpses. They have taken parts, described as "trophies" by the prosecution. Sergeant Gibbs has admitted that he cut the fingers of his victims, pulled teeth and have subsequently used to intimidate another soldier. He acknowledged during the trial to be ashamed of these actions: "I was trying to be hard, real hard," he said during the hearing, while continuing to assert that the victims represented a real threat to its unit.

A SON OF THE MORMONS MONTANA

Montana Son of Mormon, poorly educated, Sergeant Gibbs joined his unit in the fall of 2009, several months after deployment of the brigade. He had served previously in Iraq. A tall (1.91 m), jaw powerful: it was described by his comrades as charismatic, experienced and with some intelligence tactics.

The New York Times, several soldiers from his company described the boredom dominant deployment, from the summer of 2009, a forward base in the east of Kandahar, the former capital of the Taliban in the Pashtun south. They also spoke of a lack of closeness and trust with Afghan villagers, fear of improvised explosive devices placed on the roadside, which exploded during their two regular daily patrols, and the expectation of direct combat that not come. "All other units had these super stories of fighting, said one of them on condition of anonymity. And we, we are here, it does nothing. We had to sit and wait to explode."

The first murder was linked in January 2010, the second in February, the last in May. One of the soldiers of the unit, Adam Winfield, who pleaded guilty, had complained to her parents on Facebook, not being able to pop the case. In one of these exchanges, he spoke of the death of young farm worker: "A guy innocent. They prepared it and they did. I knew. I thought they would not do it. And then it ' has arrived. Almost the entire unit knows, and it is OK for most. Except for me. I want to do something. The only problem is that I can not tell anyone. The type who did this is the 'golden boy' of the company, who can never do anything wrong, and that's my word against theirs, "he wrote. Sergeant Gibbs is the highest ranking officer to have been prosecuted in this case. Command of the brigade was withdrawn to Colonel Harry D. Tunnell IV, in the summer of 2010, after the start of the investigation.

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Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Original 'Hulk' actor turning 60

Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Don't make him angry: The body-builder turned actor most famous for his role as "The Incredible Hulk" turns 60 on November 9. The Brooklyn-born muscleman first appeared on TV as the mad green monster back in 1978, and he's been going strong ever since.

The larger-than-life figure (he's 6-foot-5) first came to notice in the 1977 documentary "Pumping Iron," which follows the Mr. Olympia competition. The quiet, partially hard-of-hearing upstart attempts to unseat the reigning champ: charismatic, outgoing, confident Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ferrigno does not succeed, placing third.

The docudrama did lead to Ferrigno's show-business start on the small screen, and made Ah-nold a star.The bodybuilding king went on to movies and finally into politics as governor of California. Ferrigno became famous playing himself.

The muscular actor could be found in guest appearances as himself on the show "The King of Queens." The "Incredible Hulk" alum also had a cameo as a security guard in Ang Lee's CGI version of "Hulk" in 2003, and played himself in the comedy "I Love You Man." The guy can't get away from that original role: The actor will be voicing the part of the Hulk in the 2012 movie "The Avengers."

Ferrigno knows he's tied to the green fellow because of the fans. He said in an interview at the 2010 New York Comic Con, "Everybody just loves 'The Hulk.' They keep telling me they liked the original series better [than] they all liked the movies [with] the CGI or that kind of stuff." Maybe so, but no actor could match the bodybuilder's workout: At the age of 25, Ferrigno benched-pressed 560 pounds. Even at 50, he was still lifting 400 pounds.

The still-fit sexagenarian even served as Michael Jackson's trainer in the 1990s, as well as for his comeback tour in 2009. And watch for Ferrigno competing for a different kind of victory on next season's "Celebrity Apprentice."

Even at 60, Ferrigno is still hulking out.

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Sarkozy addresses Netanyahu of "liar" to Obama in private

sarkozy-obama
Sarkozy-Obama
AFP - Nicolas Sarkozy has called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "liar" during a private conversation, November 3 at the G20 in Cannes, with Barack Obama, who answered duty "to deal with it every day," says Freeze website images. "I can not see, is a liar," he told the French president. "You're tired of it, but I have to deal with it every day!" Replied his American counterpart, depending on the site that specializes in media analysis, which reports their words without specifying whether there is a sound recording of these statements. Sarkozy-Obama Exchange, held in camera, should have remained confidential but reached the ears of journalists incidentally, as Stop on images.

The organization released to the media with a small lead boxes to the translation of the press conference Obama-Sarkozy, some journalists have quickly connected headphones or headsets cell phone, managing to capture some echoes of the private conversation depending on the site. Questioned by AFP, several journalists have confirmed this. "I am aware of the buzz. We must see what is the reality of the thing. I have no idea. I will not comment on that. We are on the buzz," responded the carrier word of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Valero, asked during a press briefing, journalists and referring to the Presidency of the Republic for which it "confirm or deny" those words.

"All this makes us lose sight of the essential. All we want is to keep working to get things done because things are not moving" towards peace in the Middle East, said M . Valero, adding he had no knowledge of reactions so far. In Israel, Netanyahu's office was immediately refrained from any reaction, as well as the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The correspondent of the Israeli public radio in France, Gideon Kutz, who covered the summit in Cannes, for his part said that his colleagues who have heard about the private exchanged by MM. Sarkozy and Obama had agreed not to do is "by correction and not to embarrass the Press" at the Elysee.

Freeze frame still says, without citing specific statements that Barack Obama would be criticized for Nicolas Sarkozy in the interview for not having warned that France would vote in favor of the accession of Palestine to UNESCO, while the United States were strongly opposed.
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Robert Pattinson: 'I Am Living a Life I Didn't Know Existed'

robert pattinson
Robert Pattinson

Anna Kendrick’s character (Jessica) makes a witty toast where she calls Edward Cullen, "The Hair."

Until the world fell in love with the 25-year-old actor, people used to talk a lot about Robert Pattinson’s hair. Now, they talk about his star quality and his jump-through-the-screen charisma.

Pattinson talked to Parade.com about the long-awaited next chapter in the Twilight Saga, his steamy scenes with Kristen Stewart, and embracing old-fashioned romance.

It's not as romantic as it looks.

"We show romance in the bedroom and also in a nice ocean setting. It was impossible in the waves. We were trying to kiss each other and we misjudged the strength of the tide and so it was absolutely one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do in my life. There were big waves and Kristen and I were standing on boxes tied down to the shore. God, it was absolutely impossible. One thing I have to say, we shot those scenes in the Caribbean, so the water was warm."

On Edward's sex appeal.

"I don’t think I’ve ever seen a vampire movie where I think the vampires are attractive. OK, girls are sometimes kind of sexy, but guys end up looking worse than they do in their real life with the pale make-up and the fangs. I’ve watched True Blood and all those guys are great looking, but you put vampire make-up on them and they look less handsome on the show than they do in reality."

On his steamy scenes with Kristen Stewart.

"I think the more comfortable you are with each other, the harder it gets to do any kind of really intense relationship scene. You’re kind of thinking, 'I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of this person,' 'I know what she’s thinking now,' so it becomes ridiculous after awhile. Watching other people have sex is never going to be that spectacular anyway. It’s a strange thing when there’s so much hype about it. You are like, 'God, I hope this lives up to it.' The toughest part was avoiding an R-rating. It’s funny when people talk about the sex scenes in the book because there are no sex scenes in the book. Go back and read. They always fade to black."

On his impressive six-pack.

"There are so many descriptions in the book of Edward’s statuesque body — it’s all made of marble, blah blah blah. I managed to get through the entire series without taking my shirt off the whole time. I was like, ‘Nah, I’m not taking it off ever, and I’m not working out!’ Then, when we did Breaking Dawn, I thought, ‘It’s the last one, I might as well.’ So I kind of worked out to bulk up a little for those scenes with my shirt off. I stopped literally the day afterwards. I find it very boring to work out."

The spotlight wasn't on him during the big wedding scene.

"The majority of guys who are getting married would have the same experience that I did, which is that you’re just standing there waiting at the altar. It’s not about you at all. Kristen has to do all the heavy lifting. She’s having to go through everything walking down the aisle, and I’m just standing there, ‘You look really good! Let’s get married! Cool!’ It was quite simple for me."

When it comes to love and marriage, just call him old-fashioned.

"I guess I must be because everyone is always telling me that Edward is kind of old-fashioned, but I always see him as fairly normal. I mean, he just knows what he wants. He’s in love with someone and he just likes the idea of getting married to them. I guess I kind of agree with that."

On becoming a daddy.

"Nobody really knows how to be a father, there’s no way to prepare for it. But it’s quite easy to play in a film when you are holding a baby. The little person is crying in your arms and you end up being very careful. When you portraying a father, you can kind of avoid all the annoying parts of having a kid because there’s someone else to take care of it."

On Twilight coming to an end.

"The one time we filmed in nice weather was literally the last day of production. Kristen and I were on the beach and just making out all night. That’s not too bad. It was just the two of us and it was really nice. Everybody stayed to watch the sunrise, which was really beautiful. It was a nice ending."

As for the future.

"I feel like I’ve kind of been in a whirlwind for so long, even though I’ve done other movies in between. Whenever you promote something, they always want you to talk about Twilight, so it’s kind of constant. I am living a life which I didn’t really know existed. You can kind of delay being an adult for quite a while."

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Monday, November 07, 2011

Taylor Swift Before She Was Famous: Not Too Different From The Girl You Know Today

taylor swift
Taylor Swift
It's hard to believe that Taylor Swift--the world-dominating superstar who's currently up for entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards this week--wasn't always, well, Taylor Swift.

It's true, the 21-year-old singer has spent a mind-boggling third of her short life in the spotlight, so it's easy to forget that her fairy-tale story had to start somewhere. For Swift, we have to go all the way back to her preteen years to dig up the days before anyone knew who she was.

Swift's narrative tunes such as "Mean" hint at an outcast childhood growing up in Pennsylvania.  "I had a lot of trouble in school," she told us back in 2006. "I was different."

She managed to take control of her destiny with rapid efficiency, though, singing in public by the age of 11 and learning to play guitar at 12. From there she caught the eye of Britney Spears's manager while performing the National Anthem at the U.S. Open, signed a publishing deal at age 14, and followed that shortly after with a Nashville record deal. So, as one might imagine, not much pre-fame documentation exists of Swift--simply due to her early ascent to the spotlight.

What is out there, however, proves a startling fact. The Swift we know now really isn't too much different from the girl she was back then.

Here's a few points to consider:

1) Swift has kept a standard "look" which has not varied over the years--most notably (and unusually for a teenager) she seems to have never messed around with her hairstyle. Swift's signature towhead curls can be seen all the way back to her earlier days in vintage family footage. Whether pulled back or left loose about her face, long and blond rules year after year.

2) Swift's fashion sense has remained stable as well. Her frocks and shoes may now be on the high-end designer side--but flirty, feminine styles with a slight bohemian edge have consistently defined her style.

3) Although she's now legally an adult, Swift still has not seemed to grow out of her adolescent heart-on-the-sleeve personality that has fueled tens of millions of album sales in less than a decade. Back in 2004, she told Good Morning America, "When I go through something, I have to write a song about it, I have to write a poem about it. Writing is everything to me." Seven years later, she told In Style, "I'm always going to feel everything. It's my nature."

4) Finally, and probably most endearingly, Billboard's 2011 Woman of the Year has maintained the seemingly endless well of enthusiasm that's carried her upwards to her currently astronomical level of fame. Can you think of any star besides Swift who has remained relentlessly upbeat, out of trouble, and perpetually in love with her fans?

Swift has a simple explanation as to how she's done it, all these years. "It's continued to stay exciting, all of this," she told Good Morning America. "Everything feels new, all the time even though it's been happening since I was 14."

Here's a vintage interview with Swift circa 2006, back when she visited Yahoo! Music for the first time--and was just on the verge of becoming the Taylor Swift we all know today. Enjoy!
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Tokyo's gigantic flood prevention system

Tokyo's gigantic flood prevention system
Tokyo's gigantic flood prevention system
The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, also known as the G-Cans Project or the "Underground Temple", is an subterranean water infrastructure project built to protect the capital Tokyo against floodwaters during rain and typhoon seasons. It is believed to be one of the largest water collection facilities in the world. Building began in 1992 and the massive structure now consists of five concrete silos, a large water tanks and 59 pillars connected to a number of pumps that can pump up to 200 tons of water into the Edogawa River per second. It has also become a tourist attraction, as well as a location for movies, TV shows and commercials.

The pressure-controlled water tank at the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Kusakabe, north of Tokyo. The facility, which is believed to be one of the largest facilities in the world, is composed of giant concrete containment silos (65m tall, 32m wide), connected by 3.97 miles of underground tunnels 50m beneath the surface as well as a large water tank called the "Underground Temple" which is 25.4m tall, with a length of 177m and 78m wide, with 59 concrete pillars.



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Saturday, November 05, 2011

Colombia: several deaths and at least 28 missing in a landslide

landslide in colombia
Landslide in Colombia
AFP - Four people died and at least 28 people are missing following a landslide that buried ten homes in the Colombian city of Manizales (278 km west of Bogota), announced Saturday the Cross Red AFP. "We have a confirmed list of 28 people who were there" when the incident occurred, told AFP Jorge Zambrano, coordinator of the relief agency in Manizales, a city of about 350,000 inhabitants. According to an initial assessment in addition to these 28 missing at least four people were killed in the landslide, has announced the Red Cross.

The fire chief of the region, Carlos Marin, for his part told the press that at least 32 families were affected by the landslide and said five places where there might be the victims had been located. The man called on residents to be cautious, noting that the ground was unstable. The rainy season, which began in late September in Colombia, has killed more than forty people and left 250,000 homeless. Three other people also died Saturday after a mudslide on their house, not far from Calarca (Quindio department) in the west

Between April 2010 and April 2011, unusually heavy rains caused by the weather phenomenon La Nina, had killed over 400 people and left 3.6 million homeless. La Nina is a cyclical weather phenomenon that is characterized by lower average temperatures in the sea surface in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. Click here to find out more!


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